ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The residents of St. Petersburg voiced their concerns, and the Florida Legislature responded. Lawmakers have approved the “No vehicle wake flood zone” rule, which forbids drivers from speeding through flooded areas and causing harmful wakes.
The plan is to lower the speed limit in the area when necessary. St. Petersburg City Council Member Brandi Gabbard helped spearhead the provision.
“Reducing speed to a crawl allows residents to reach their homes or leave for work if necessary, without the risk of flooding caused by vehicle wakes,” explained Gabbard.
She said drivers can be ticketed in what will be considered a minor offense. Enforcement can happen across jurisdictions and across the state.
Rivera Bay residents described how bad the flooding was after Hurricane Helene.
“It came up to right about here; we’ve never had flooding before,” said Britni Cox.
News Channel 8 On Your Side spoke with Cox just as a realtor was leaving her house.
“Right now, we’re leaning more towards the selling,” Cox said.
Other residents are trying to stick it out and make repairs.
“The water was nearly reaching the doorknobs, and it entered through the windows of the sun porch,” shared Jodi Crumbliss. “We recently completed the bathroom, so that’s a relief. However, the kitchen still needs work, and there’s much more to be done.”
Crumbliss shared photos of her flooded neighborhood. One picture showed a truck driving through the flood waters.
“It comes into our homes, so quit playing, it’s not a game. Our homes are important to us, and we do everything we can to keep the water out,” Crumbliss said.
News Channel 8 On Your Side asked Crumbliss if she felt the drivers made her home flooding worse. She responded by saying, “Absolutely.”
“You get the kids who love running up and down in the water. They think it’s a game and they think it’s fun just to see the water splash,” Crumbliss said.
They live in district two, which is council member Gabbard’s district. Gabbard said there is more to be done.
“This is not the only solution. We not only need to work on our storm water system, we also need to be serious about how we help people elevate their homes,” Gabbard said. “We need to get people up out of harm’s way while we’re making sure the infrastructure that is there is dependable and can keep them as safe as possible.”
Some residents said this provision won’t change anything for them now.
“Too little too late, at least for my circumstances, but I can’t speak for the next person out there,” Cox said. “We still got a little bit of issues going on with the flooding and drainage systems going through here so hopefully stay away from floods please.”
Both Cox and Crumbliss hope this provision will help as the city tackles larger flooding problems.
“They need to do some work on the canals and what not to help the rising water, but that’s down the road, I guess. But that is a great beginning to at least helping people like us who live close to the water,” Crumbliss said.
Gabbard said the council is expected to get an update from the St. Petersburg police chief at the next quarterly report about enforcing the provision.
If Governor DeSantis signs the bill, it will go into effect July 1.
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